Career Fair Attendance Rises as Employers Actively Seek SIUE Students

October 6, 2016, 11:38 AM

More than 100 industry employers and graduate schools are meeting strong student prospects from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the Career Development Center’s Career Fairs being held Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 5-6.

“Our career fairs are growing tremendously,” said Carrie Smolar, assistant director for employer relations in the SIUE Career Development Center. “We’re actively working to help students connect with employers and gain professional opportunities.”

“I’m looking for an internship for this summer that will hopefully extend into a full-time position in the fall,” said Ichi Lee, a junior majoring in computer management information systems, as he visited with employers. “Hands-on experience is extremely beneficial.”

“This is me taking my first step into the future,” added Shauna Bayles, a senior applied communication studies major. “I’m getting my name and resume out there, and taking advantage of all of these employers being in one place.”

Heightened attendance by area employers can be partly attributed to the successful candidates they have recruited from SIUE in the past. Multiple alumni attended the career fair, as representatives of their employers, to discuss internship, co-op and employment opportunities with current students.

“We’re looking to fill internships and full-time positions doing project management,” said Jesse Humphrey, SIUE alumnus and project engineer with Byrne & Jones Construction. “The majority of our office includes SIUE alums. We’ve found SIUE students are great communicators compared to students from some other schools.”

“We come to all of the job fairs at SIUE,” said Regions Bank’s Nicole Cooper. “We’re looking for folks who we feel will be an overall great fit for Regions—that’s building relationships with our customers, being involved in communities and doing things to continue to help us grow. We have had great success with students who have worked their way up and are now branch managers.”

The October Career Fair was geared toward students from the College of Arts and Sciences and Schools of Business and Engineering, as well as all non-teaching majors. The Career Development Center will host a Health Career Fair for students and alumni on Monday, Nov. 14.

Photo: SIUE’s Madelyn Diden, a junior majoring in management and marketing, visits with Jesse Humphrey of Byrne & Jones Construction during the October Career Fairs.